Beware of the Dark
by Anis5240
Summary: Wilson believed night was just as benign as day.


Got into the Don't Starve fandom a while ago, and decided to do a oneshot regarding our new fave boy, Wilson!!

-anis5240 and sorcerer-randy

(line break)

 _"Don't go into the darkness; stay within the light."_

 _"But why, Mother?"_

 _"For there's unspeakable evil lying in there, and you don't want to be caught in it."_

Wilson Percival Higgsbury blinked his eyes as he lay down on his rickety bed, staring at the ceiling of his home; the voice of his mother echoed in his head, telling him the danger of being in the dark.

'But that's ridiculous,' he thought. 'There's always light somewhere these days.' And even when there was no light, he knew he still could see at least a few feet ahead. He glanced at the table lamp beside him.

The invention of the light bulb certainly caused a great stir in the society, ensuring people with safety from the lights at night.

Which was part of the reason he wanted to be a scientist.

Another part was that his curiosity of wonders of the world.

He sighed; he had come a long way from his hometown in London to pursue his career at the land of opportunity, America. He then settled down at an old cabin in Shanter, a small town at the edge of a forest.

Apart from when he had to get his supplies at the local workshop and taking a stroll, he barely stepped out of his home, studying science and performing experiments that caught his interest.

He looked around his room, which was rather dark. The only source of light was from the moon, and he was content with it. He dismissed his mother's idea of something dangerous was lurking in the dark; he was now a grown man for real sake! Not some mere child who was scared of everything around him!

Still, one can never be too careful.

He switched on the table lamp and rolled aside before falling into dreamland, his mother's voice gradually faded from his head.

If only he knew...

(line break)

Some time later, Wilson was having a bad mood after another one of his experiments had blown in his face, literally. He held a sigh of frustration as he sat on his red armchair, wondering what had gone wrong this time.

"Say pal..."

The scientist almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice that came out of his old radio, which wasn't the best at getting reception. To be able to hear anything without any static sound was a miracle for him.

"Looks like you're having some trouble!" the voice continued, a bit too cheery in Wilson's opinion. He frowned; how did whoever on the radio know?

"I have secret knowledge I can share with you," it went on as he picked up the device and scanned it skeptically, "if you think you're ready for it."

Wilson was quite insulted with the last sentence. He was a scientist who was proud of his own work, and here the voice was prompting him to do the opposite. Besides, he was more than ready to get more knowledge. He was about to set back the radio when a thought hit him.

'It's just a small amount of knowledge, Wilson! Everyone knows that the more you share your ideas, the more people can benefit from them! You will be the scientist of your time with this!'

And so he nodded in excitement of new discoveries to be made to the radio, which was quite stupid of him to do so considering it was just a device.

But the voice seemed to know his answer when it said, "OK then!"

A flash struck and all of the sudden, Wilson's mind was brimmed with various calculations and informations that he never knew. And just like that, they were gone, leaving him with a wide grin as he placed back the device.

He was going to build a machine ahead of his time.

(line break)

Soon, the machine was completed, and Wilson could not help but to smile in satisfaction at the contraption he had built with literal sweat and blood.

"Excellent!" the voice he heard a while ago boomed from his radio. "Now throw the switch!"

Wilson held out his hand toward the lever in eagerness when a sick feeling sunk into him. What was he doing, taking orders from a mysterious voice whose way of communication was from a radio? He was a gentleman scientist who refused to take other's knowledge. He shook his head and lowered his hand.

"DO IT!" the phantom, sensing his doubts shouted, startling him. More out of fear that anything else he pulled the lever.

The machine rose higher, and he could almost see a person's face was on it, beaming evilly at him.

'This is bad, I should not be doing this!' he lamented. Behind him, the radio was laughing at his misfortune.

He was so focused at getting away from the contraption that he failed to realize two long, slender hands appeared from the floor beneath him and made their way toward him until it was too late.

Wilson's scream resonated around the cabin as he was dragged into nothingness.

(line break)

"Say pal, you don't look so good."

Wilson shifted slightly as he felt the heat from the sun washed over him.

"You'd better find something to eat before night comes!"

The heat was too much for Wilson's comfort, and he woke up in surprise before standing up, stretching his body and gazed at the place he woke.

A barren, sun-baked piece of land.

Well that explained everything.

He muttered in annoyance about the sun when he stopped and looked around.

Where was he?

As far as he could see, there was only nature. Evergreens that swayed a bit as the wind blew, the leafless saplings, and he could see a carrot sticking out of the ground.

"Might as well make the best out of this place," he mumbled before walking, blaming his thoughts for placing him in such predicament.

Before long, it was dusk.

Wilson managed to get a few handful of berries and carrots. The axe he had made from a piece of flint and two twigs was more than enough to bring down the evergreens, which were actually more piney in appearance. He had gathered ten logs as well as fifteen grasses and twigs each before tiring for the day.

Resting beside his campfire, he carefully cooked the berries and carrots. 'This actually isn't that bad,' he thought as he placed the cooked food aside. 'It was just like at home back then. Except in wilderness.'

He threw a pinecone into the campfire to keep it going and sighed. "You know better than anyone else to listen to a voice that came out of nowhere, Wilson," he berated himself. Suddenly, his stomach grumbled and he popped some berries into his mouth to ease his hunger.

Just after he did so, night came.

Wilson could only watch as his surroundings went dark and slowly invisible from his sight until there was nothing left. The only light source was from his campfire and he started to feel uneasy about it.

"H-hello? Is anyone there?" he called out. Silence answered him and he gulped in fear; he never had been this scared before. His grip on his axe tightened and he gazed upward to see whether the moon was shining.

Even the sky was swallowed in the darkness.

His heart was hammering hard in his chest, and his eyes widened in alarm as he noticed his campfire was rather dim. Quickly, he threw two grasses into the fire and was relieved to see as the fire continued to burn.

Now that he was relaxed, Wilson couldn't help but to feel safe within the radius of the fire, but he was also intrigued by the darkness.

It was as if there was something waiting for him to leave the fire.

Not the one to back away from a challenge, he bit his lips and decided it won't hurt to investigate. Gripping hard on his axe, he wondered if he could see (if slightly) in the dark as he walked away from the light of his safety.

He took two steps out of the circle and already beads of cold sweat were on his forehead. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Wilson," he reassured himself as he stepped further.

"It's so dark!" he stated; he literally could not see anything behind, side or in front of him.

He caught the sound of a shriek after a while, and he knew what was he feeling right now: Terror.

"What was that?" he squeaked and swung his axe around madly. He couldn't let this go on, he had to go back to his campfire!

He ran for his life and was delighted to see it was still burning, albeit being almost gone. 'Just a bit more, Wilson!' he forced himself.

Luck however, had planned ahead of him.

His left foot stumbled across a rabbit den and he fell, only a few inches away. He turned around in horror as he heard the night monster was closing in on him.

The last thing he knew before his vision faded away was his mother's voice:

 _"Beware of the dark."_


End file.
